In a computer network, data is transmitted from a source host to a destination host in the form of packets that generally pass through one or more networking devices (e.g., switches, routers, firewalls, etc.). During the transmission, certain errors may arise that result in, for example, redundant data being added to the original data, dropped packets, etc. Port mirroring is a feature that is currently provided on networking devices that may be used to detect, diagnose, and/or debug such errors.
In conventional port mirroring techniques, a networking device replicates an incoming and/or outgoing packet, and forwards the replicated packet to a network analyzer. The network analyzer is typically attached to a specific port of the networking device that performs the port mirroring.